grundy



J. A. GRUNDY.

DYEING MACHiNE.l

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 25. 1921.

41,389,444. I Patenwd Aug. 30 1921..

2 SHEETS-sum I.

1. A. GRUNDY.

D.YEING MACHINE.

APPucATxoN FILED MAR.25.1921.

1 ,389,444, v Patented Aug. 30, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Il Inverti-0f" if ifi fame/'01%. Gran@ UNITED STATES PATENT ori-IcaJAMES A. GRUNDY, OF PHILADELPHIA, IENNSYLV'ANIA, ASSIGNOR T0 JOHNBROMLEY & SONS, INCORPORATED, F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ACORPORATION 0F PENNSYLVANIA.

DYEING-MACHINE.

Application filed March 25, 1921.

To all whom t may concern.' y

Be it known that I, JAMEs A. GRUNDY, citizen of the United States,Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Dyeing-Machines, of which the following is afull, clear, and exact description, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to dyeing machines, applicable to the dyeing ofyarns, and speciically to that known type of such machines whichcomprises an exterior container for the dye liquor and a dyeing vat,havin a perforated bottom, supported Within, an in spaced relation atits base and sides to the exterior container, both vat and tank beingopen at top, and where-in means, usually mechanical, are provided toproduce an agitation and circulation of the dye liquor through the vatand in the .region of the yarns suspended therein; such machinesoperating in conjunction with a skein supporting frame, movablevertically, by appropriate hoisting means, into and out of the Vat.

My invention in a dyeing machine of the type stated has for its severalobjects to improve and simplify the structure by a novel constructionand relative arrangement of some of the elements, including arectangular contour of the exterior container and interior dye vat,constructing latter of even width but lesser length than the former soas to form circulation spaces at each long end, and so combining saidelements in spaced relation thereto, not only at the respective ends butat base as before, to form complete circulatory channels both upwardlythrough and over the end walls of the dye vat, also mounting the inneror dye vat below the plane of the open top of the container, and byconstructin the vertically movable skein-supporting fame in such mannerthat it lwill operate as a cover for the container when in operativeposition, in spaced relation to the top of the vat and thereby provide aclosed passage way between the adjacent end walls of the vat andcontainer for an inclosed circulation of the dye liquor; also theprovisions of means forming part of the combined cover and frame wherebythe yarn skeins may thereafter be separately moved on rotatable car-Speeifcation of Letters Patent.

residing ift.

Patented Aug.- 30, 1921.

Serial No. 455,421.

riers in the frame during the dyeing operation; also the provision ofperforated tubular means whereby compressed air may be used if desiredin lieu of steam or of air under atmospheric pressure only, to produce amore effective initial agitation and, successively thereto a moreperfect circulation of the dye liquor, from the spaces .between eachchannel end of the interior Vat and exterior container over the walls ofand toward the center of the interior dye vat and through the perforatedbase wall there-- of whereby as a final result of the initialapplication of the dye' liquor to the yarn in manner and by the meansaforesaid there will be produced a uniform shade of color throughout theskein; and finally, by an arrangement of the steam pipes for heating,relatively to the air` pipes for agitation and circulation, to connectand blow out the air pipes whereby any clogging of the latter by the dyestuffs used is readily removable.

To these ends my invention consists of the elements constructed andcombined as hereinafter described, to effect the objects stated, thenovel and characteristic features of the machine being as pointed out inthe appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the same:

Fi ure 1 is a longitudinal section through the yeing vat and itscontainer tank; the yarn carrying frame; and above it a hoistingmechanism suspended over the vat, for operating the yarn carrying frame.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. l-and lookingin the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2. y

Fig. 4 is a section through the air vents in the steam or air pipes.

Fig. 5 is a detail of one of the yarn carryin sticks and a crank forturning same.

eferring now to said drawings the eX- terior container for the dyeliquor is shown as a rectangular tank consisting of end and side wallsand base walls, each indicated at l0; is open at the top and adapted tobe closed during the dyeing operation, by the top of the yarn frameoperating as a remov- 13, the top edge of each of which is below theplane of the side walls of the container, and extend from and betweenthe opposite long sides of the tank and in spaced relation to theopposite end walls thereof, the interior vat having a base wall 1l whichextends between and is secured to the under edges of the partitioningside walls 13, 13. and in spaced relation to the base of the container.This base wall 11 of the vat is perforated throughout substantially itsentire surface, as at l1 (see Fig. 3). The rectangular elements arepreferably somewhat greater in length than in width, for a reason to bepresently stated. By this construction there is formed an interior vatand an exterior container with spaces between the basal walls of saidelements and between the relatively narrow `ids of each` thisconstruction being de- #.dely advantageous because it has been founddifficult, indeed practically impossible, by any known means, to force acirculation of the dye liquor over the long side of -an interior vat,whereas to force it over the relatively narrow ends is comparativelyeasy, besides making it equally easy to reverse the direction of thecirculation.

The end walls 18, 13 of the interior or dye vat are of lesser heightthan the end walls 10, 10 of the exterior container or tank, as shown inFig. 1, in order that the circulation may be over these end walls of thevat, and toward the center thereof. The open top of the tank orcontainer, as also of the interior vat is closed only when the machineis in operation, by means of the top portion of a yarn carrying frame 17whic 1 forms a lid 1S the extreme ends 2O of which rest upon the endwalls 10 of the tank; this lid forms part of the yarn-carrying frame 17,both of which are thereby adapted to be raised and loweredby any knownhoistingr device such as indicated at 27 in Fig. `1. This constructionenables the yarn-carrying frame, when lowered, to pass into the interioror dye vat, while the slightly inclined ends 20 of the movable cover 18rest over without interfering with the channel spaces between the endsof the vat and tank and, by their inclination, tend to direct the courseof the circulation 0f the dye liquor over the walls 13, 13, of the vat.

That portion of the vertically movable cover which operates, in part, asthe yarn carrying frame 17 has rotatably mounted therein a series ofskein-holding members 21 which are squared, in cross section, asindicated in Fig. 2, and rounded at their ends to rotate in the sidewalls of the frame. as shown in said Fig. 2. The extreme ends of theyarn carrying members 21 are adapted to be rotated, such as by a crank23 the end of which may be inserted in holes 22 in the end of themembers 21 as a convenient means of removable attachment. Theseyarn-carrying members are preferably placed in staggered relation in theYframe whereby they may be arranged closer together and thereby providea greater yarn-supporting capacity in a given space, as by thisarrangement the increased space required when turning the carriers 21,originally set square in horizontal parallelism, is materially lessened.The purpose of turning the carriers 21y is to allow that portion of theyarn skein (indicated at 26 in Fie. 1l which rests initially upon thesquare side of the carrier to then rest upon the angular edge of thecarrier and be directly acted upon by the dye liquor, the skeins beingsupported on the carriers as indicated in dot and dash lines, 24 and 25,the former showing their position initially and the latter theirposition when the carriers are turned in their bearings.

Means for heating the dye liquor, preferably to a high temperature,approximately 212 F., are provided by a main steam supply pipe 30,controlled by a valve 31, connected with a manifold 32 and with a seriesof perforated pipes 332 extending adjacent to the base of the exteriortank or container (see Fig. l) and to the upper end of the steam supplypipe 30 and below the valve 31 therein is provided a by-pass 60 and avalve 61 governing it (see Fig. 2) whereby connection can be made, whendesired, to the air piping system hereinafter described to blow out thelatter and prevent any clogging of it.

It has been found in practice that mechanical and other known means toagitate and circulate the dyeing liquor are frequently inefficient forsuch purpose, in the respect that the yarn suspended at the center andat or near the opposite ends of the dye vat will not be fully and evenlyreached by the dyeing liquor, nor at its initial strength in thebeginning of the operation, and hence the yarn frequently takes on asha-de somewhat lighter in parts than at other parts; which is obviouslydue to slow and inefficient initial agitation of the dye liquor at thebeginning of the operation and in part to ineffective means to effectthe successive circulation of the dyeing liquor throughout the tank inthe region of the suspended yarns, and it is equally obvious that thequality and value of theA dyed product is injuriously affected by a lackof uniformity of color shade effected by such method and means of dyeingit.

Means to employ fluid pressure, prefer ably compressed air, to agitatethe dye liquor in the region of the suspended yarns at the beginning andconclusion of the dyeing operation, and to intermediately set up acirculation of the dye-liquor at each end, successively` of the combinedtank and vat and then in reversed order, over the end walls of the vattoward the center thereof,

as a system of piping, described as follows:

A main air supply pipe 40, controlled by a valve`41, connects with aseries of perforated pipes 42 arranged horizontally within the tank,just above the steam pipes 33 and, of course, below the perforated baseof "the interior dye vat. These pipes 42 are perforated to dischargelaterally into the compartment 16`which is formed by the spaced relationbetween the perforated base of the vat and the bottom of the container.These perforated pipes 42 are disposed transversely of the length of thevat, and connect with a supply pipe 44 arranged at right angles theretoand which connects the series of pipes 42 with the main air supply pipe40. A valve 45 controls the supply pipe 44.r Two similar air pipes 46and 50, are respectively arranged inand near the base of thecompartments 14 and 15, which are formed by the spaced relation betweenthe ends of the vat and tank. These pipes are perforated to dischargeupwardly. The air ipe 4'6 is connected With and supplied) by pipe 48,which is controlled by valve 49. The other similar air pipe 50 isconnected with and supplied by pipe 52 which is controlled by valve 53.

The remaining novel feature of my device is as follows: It sometimeshappens Athat the ingredients used in the dyestuff mixture used inmaking up the dye liquor will tend to clog the openings 43-47 and 51 inthe air pipes 42-46 and 50, and the air is of insufficient force tofully remove these obstructions and open these perforations immediatelyit is applied. To overcome this objection I employ a tubular connection60 leading from the main steam supply pipe 30 to the main air supplypipe 40 by tapping said pipes below the respective control valves 31 and41. Interposed between these two pipes I locate a control valve 61. Whenit is desired to open the clogged air pipes I close the valve 4l therebyshutting off all air supply and open valves 31 and 61 thus establishingsteam' communication with the air supply system and by opening valves45-49 and 53 allow steam pressure to flow freely therethrou h, therebysoftening and blowing all clogging substances from the perforations.

The operation of the device other than as already explained, is asfollows: The dye liquor is placed in the tank 10 and brought to aboiling heat by means of steam which is admitted through main steamsupply pipe 30, controlled by valve 31,v carried to a` manifold 32, andthence to the erforated pipes 33 through which it is A equally to theliquor in the basal compartment 16 and thence dischargedupwardly throughthe openings 11a in the perforated istributed base 11 of the vat, to theliquor therein, wherein the yarn-carrying frame has been previouslylowered, its inclined covering ends 19 and 20 resting on the end wallsof the exterior container in spaced relation to the top of the walls ofthe interior vat, and

hence providing a removable cover of closed circulatory passage betweenthem when the yarn carrying frame is in assembled relation tothe dye vatand container.

, The dye llquor being thus heated, it is important that a thoroughagitation of it should then promptly ensue so that at its initialstrength at the beginning of the operation it should reach every part ofthe suspended skeins and impart thereto the same shade of colorinitially. To effect this a volume of compressed air, under a pressureof about thirty pounds to the inch is forced through the air pipes inthe compartment `16 and discharges upwardly through the perforated baseplate of the vat and hence in the region of the suspended yarn. Airunder such compression will, when released from the perforated pipes,expand instantly and produce a violent agitation of the dye liquor, andthis entirely apart from and in addition to the effect of its velocityunder the pressure used to force it through the pipes. After thisapplication of compressed air, it is equally important to set up acirculation of the liquor, this being effected by opening the valveswhich govern ,the perforatedl pipe 46 which discharges into compartment14, driving the liquor upward and over the adjacent end wall of the vatand toward the center thereof and thence downward through the perforatedbase wall of the vat. A reversal of the direction of circulation maythen be effected by closing valve 45 and openingthe valve 53 anddischarging compressed air through the perforated pipe 50 .and throughthe compartment 15 at the opposite end of the machine.

The marked utility of my invention in this regard is not merely inproviding a circulation. of the dye liquor comparable with that producedby mechanical means or even by air under atmospheric pressure, either ofwhich is, in substance, merely a stirring, but by employing compressedair as the agitating and finally as the circulating medium and by meansof the arrangement of piping and appropriate manipulation, a perfectcirculation. and in reversible directions, as well as a preliminary andmost thorough, as dis tinguished from a merely local, agitation of thedye liquor around the suspended yarns at the be inning of the dyeingoperation, may be e ected, resulting, in a more completeapplication tothe yarn of the dyeing lifquor at its initial strength and consequentlye Having thus described my invention, Il claim:

l. A machine for dyeing yarns and the like, comprising in combinationan. open topped container, rectangular in contour, for dye liquor, aninterior tank of equal width but lesser length mounted within and belowthe plane of the open top of said container and in spaced relationthereto at each end and at base, said interior tank having a perforatedbottom wall, perforated tubular means within said container arranged toapply Huid pressure to circulate the contained dye liquor, andvertically movable means to suspend yarns and the like in said interiortank, said means including parts adapted` when in lowered position, torest on the edges of said container and close the same without closureof the interior tank relatively thereto.

2. A machine for dyeing yarns and the like, comprising in. combinationan exterior open-topped container for dye liquor, an interior tank openat top and mounted within and below the plane of the upper edge of saidcontainer and in spaced relation thereto at each end and at base, saidinterior tank having a perforated bottom wall, a vertically movablecover having inclined edges adapted to rest on the upper edges of saidcontainer and close the same without closing the interior tankrelatively thereto, said cover includes parts adapted to suspend yarnstherein and support the same within said interior tank, and a system ofperforated piping horizontally disposed in the space between the basalwalls of said tank and container, arranged to discharge fluid pressureupwardly through said perforated bottom wall, said system including avalve-controlled main supply pipe communicating with a source of fluidpressure.

3. A machine for dyeing yarns, comprising in combination an exterioropen topped container, rectangular in contour, an interior tank of equalwidth but lesser length mounted within and below the plane of the upperfree edges of said container and in spaced relation thereto at each endand at base, said interior tank yhaving a perforated bottom Wall, aremovable cover having downwardly inclined edges adapted to rest on thewalls of said container to close the top thereof without closure of theinterior tank relatively thereto and perforated tubular meanshorizontally disposed in each of the spaces between the tank andcontainer, adapted to apply fluid pressure to circulate the dyeingliquor over the end Walls of the interior tank and toward the centerthereof in either or both directions, successively or together, at thewill of the operator, said means including tubular connections, withvalvular couplings therefor, between each of said perforated, pipes anda main source of fluid pressure.

4. A machine, for dyeing yarns and the like, comprising in combination,an exterior rectangular container having an open to an interior tank ofequal width but lesser length mounted within and below the plane of theupper edges of said container and in spaced relation thereto at each endand at base, said interior tank having a perforated bottom wall,perforated tubular means within the container adapted to apply the propulsive force of fluid pressure to circulate the dyeing liquor, meansoperating primarily as a vertically removable cover for said container,said means including a yarn-carrying frame forming a part of said cover,said frame being provided with a series of rotatable. skein-holdingmembers.

5. A machine for dyeing yarns and the like, comprising in combination anexterior container for dye liquor, an interior tank of equal width andlesser length mounted within and below the plane of the upper edges ofsaid container, in spaced relation thereto at each end and at base, saidinterior tank having a perforated bottom Wall, tubular means arrangedbelow said wall adapted to supply steam to heat the liquor, perforatedtubular means arranged within the container and adapted to supply fluidpressure to circulate the dye liquor through the interior tank, andconnecting valve-controlled tubular means between said steam tubes andsaid fluid pressure tubes, operable at the will of the operator, todischarge steam through said fluid pressure tubes to clean the same fromobstructing dye matter.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto affixed my signature this 17 thday of March, A. D. 1921.

JAMES A. GRUNDY.

